The National Archives (United Kingdom)
The National Archives (TNA; Welsh: Yr Archifau Cenedlaethol) is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom.[3] Its parent department is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.[4] It is the official archive of the UK Government and for England and Wales; and "guardian of some of the nation's most iconic documents, dating back more than 1,000 years."[5] There are separate national archives for Scotland (the National Records of Scotland) and Northern Ireland (the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland).
Non-ministerial department overview
April 2003
590[1]: 66
£46.2 million (2022–23)[2]
- Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
- Stuart Andrew, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
- Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper of the Public Records
- Office of Public Sector Information
- His Majesty's Stationery Office
TNA was formerly four separate organisations: the Public Record Office (PRO), the Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) and His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). The Public Record Office still exists as a legal entity, as the enabling legislation has not been modified,[6][7] and documents held by the institution thus continue to be cited by many scholars as part of the PRO.[8] Since 2008, TNA has also hosted the former UK Statute Law Database, now known as legislation.gov.uk.
The department is the responsibility of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism; a minister in His Majesty's Government.[9]
Location[edit]
The National Archives is based in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south-west London. The building was opened in 1977 as an additional home for the public records, which were held in a building on Chancery Lane. The site was originally a World War I hospital, which was later used by several government departments.[10] It is near to Kew Gardens Underground station.
Until its closure in March 2008, the Family Records Centre in Islington was run jointly by The National Archives and the General Register Office. The National Archives has an additional office in Norwich, which is primarily for former OPSI staff. There is also an additional record storage facility (DeepStore[11]) in the worked-out parts of Winsford Rock Salt Mine, Winsford, Cheshire.
TNA claims it is "at the heart of information policy—setting standards and supporting innovation in information and records management across the UK, and providing a practical framework of best practice for opening up and encouraging the re-use of public sector information.[14] This work helps inform today's decisions and ensure that they become tomorrow's permanent record." It has a number of key roles in information policy:
Sector leadership[edit]
The National Archives (and before it the Public Record Office) has long had a role of oversight and leadership for the entire archives sector and archives profession in the UK, including local government and non-governmental archives. Under the Public Records Act 1958 it is responsible for overseeing the appropriate custody of certain non-governmental public records in England and Wales.[15] Under the 2003 Historical Manuscripts Commission Warrant it has responsibility for investigating and reporting on non-governmental records and archives of all kinds throughout the United Kingdom.[16] In October 2011, when the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council was wound up, TNA took over its responsibilities in respect of archives in England, including providing information and advice to ministers on archives policy. The National Archives now sees this part of its role as being "to enhance the 'archival health of the nation'".[17]
